Till the Tree Die
by TFLWrites
Summary: Max has been cast as the lead in Shakespeare's Cymbeline, but she's having trouble with her acting. Chloe and Rachel use their experience to help.


"Good masters, harm me not.

Before I entered here I called, and thought

To have beck—_sorry_—begged or bought what I have took. Good, um, troth,

I have stolen naught, nor would not, though I had found—uh..."

Max stumbled through her lines, trying her hardest to remember what she was supposed to say next. Something about money? Or gold—she wasn't entirely sure.

Mr. Keaton had given her the script a couple of weeks ago, and the first thing that struck her was the sheer number of lines he expected her to memorize. It wouldn't have surprised her if she had the most lines in the entire play. Why did she let Rachel convince her to try out for this stupid play?

When it became clear that Max had no idea what her next line was, Rachel hopped up from her sitting position on the couch to walk over with the script. She stepped over the crushed beer cans and crumpled paper strewn about to make her way as Max stepped down from her makeshift stage. It was only a busted milk carton, but it was the best they could do in the tiny space of the junkyard shack.

"Max," Rachel began. "I love you a lot, you know this, and I want you to understand that I mean nothing rude by it. But that was really bad."

Max slumped her shoulders and sat down on the carton. "Thanks, Rachel. That _really_ makes me feel better about this whole thing. I didn't even want to do it in the first place."

"No, no, no. Not a single person expects you to get it perfect on your first try. Or even a little decent. Truthfully, it's actually a good thing."

"It's a good thing I suck?" Max had a dubious look on her face. "Mr. Keaton made a mistake. I'm going to show up to rehearsal nowhere close to being off-book and he's going to realize how much of a failure I am."

"You aren't a failure, Max." She shook her head and grabbed Max's hand to pull her up. She gave a swift kick to the milk carton, knocking it away to leave a small open area for them both to stand at the end of the shack. "And it's a good thing because you haven't already learned the wrong ways to do it."

"I haven't learned any good ways either."

"Trust me. It's easier to start from scratch than it is to knock a bad habit. Let's try something."

Rachel set the script down and stood face to face with Max, bringing their hands together between them so she could hold Max's wrists.

"Close your eyes," Rachel said. "We're going to do a bit of character immersion. It's something that I try when I have trouble finding the words to say."

Max trusted that Rachel knew what she was doing and closed her eyes. She still felt Rachel's hands in her own and focused on that warm feeling she always felt when she was with one of her girlfriends.

Rachel waited a moment for Max's breathing to steady, then began her instruction. "Remember, on the stage, you aren't Max Caulfield. You are _Imogen_, the great princess known for her virtue and chastity, forced to dress as a boy because she believes her lover wishes her dead."

"Uh... this is a little hard to relate to."

"Shush," Rachel chided. "It's supposed to be, that's why we're doing this. In this scene, you are feeling scared, sick, and alone when a trio of hunters find you stealing their food. That's what you have to focus on—how Imogen _feels_. A scene is more than just words said aloud by the people on stage; it's the interaction between them that creates the magic. Does that make sense?"

"I think so." Max nodded. "So I just need to pretend to be scared, right?"

"Sure. Let's start with that. Think back to a time when you were completely terrified, when you thought all was lost and it only seemed to be getting worse."

A familiar nightmare jumped to the forefront of Max's mind. The details were blurred with the effort she had spent to move past it, but it was enough. The memory of that sharp sound would never leave her, and every time they reminded her of what could have been it threatened to overwhelm her.

Max's hands grew clammy with the thought as a light shiver ran down her spine. She forced herself not to fall into her usual response and instead grabbed hold of the feeling inside her. She imprinted that emotion and stored it away where she could reference it when needed without worrying about the memory that caused it.

Rachel had closed her eyes and just waited until Max had found her emotion. When she felt Max's hands begin to shake slightly, she reinforced her grip. She knew Max had been through a lot, and maybe it was unfair to make her relive it, but everyone had memories that never wanted to think of. Forcing herself to make them her own is what made her such a great actor.

"Okay," Max finally breathed. "I think I got it."

"Yeah? Good. Now try to put that emotion into your words. Start from the beginning of that part of the scene."

Max waited a moment, eyes still closed, making sure she had a firm grasp on what she wanted to say when she readied herself to begin. Before she could say the first word, however, she felt the warm breath of a word whispered directly into her right ear.

"_Hey._"

On instinct, Max let go of Rachel's hands and spun around to strike the sudden noise. Her hand came up in an open slap to smack the shoulder of a familiar figure with dyed blue hair. Rachel let out a soft '_eep!_' at the sudden movement.

"_Chloe!_" Max screamed, her heart racing. "Don't sneak up on us like that!"

"Sorry, lovebirds. I got back and saw you two doing a weird seance thing, and I took it upon myself to snap you both out of it. You can thank me whenever."

"You are the worst." Rachel said. She had a smile on her face, though, so Chloe knew she wasn't truly mad.

Max, however, had her arms crossed and a sour look. Maybe frightening the most anxious and jumpy person they knew wasn't the best idea, Chloe thought.

To make up for it, she walked over to where Max was pouting and wrapped her arms around her, rubbing her hands along Max's back. When she felt Max relax slightly in her arms, she risked a few soft kisses on the top of her head into her brown hair.

"Hey, where's my hug?" Rachel called from where she had sat herself back on the couch.

"In the car with the beers. If you grab 'em for me, I'll make sure you get the second best hugs I have."

"_Second_ best?"

"Max gets the best," Chloe said. "Only because she's softer and easier to hold."

Rachel made a soft humming sound. "That's fair. I'll be right back." She made her way past them out the entranceway of the shack to the truck, stopping to give Chloe a small peck on the cheek as she walked by.

As her girlfriend left for beer, Chloe brought her attention back to the one in her arms. Max had finally uncrossed her arms and returned the embrace.

"Sorry about that, Max," Chloe began. "I know you don't like it when people do that."

"It's okay." Max's words were muffled into Chloe's shirt, but she could understand them well enough. "Just don't do it again, please?"

"I won't." Chloe waited a few more moments, enjoying the hug before letting go. She set her hands on Max's shoulders to look her in the eye. "Anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"You know there is."

Given the blessing, Chloe smiled as she leaned down, bringing her lips directly to Max's. They held their kiss for several seconds, each of them enjoying the warmth that spread within them. When it finally broke, Max's face was flushed red with a starstruck smile. Chloe held her signature smirk as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Let's go help Rach. I need to apologize to her too, don't you think?" Chloe said.

Max didn't know if she would be able to speak properly yet, so she just nodded silently, letting Chloe take her by the hand out to the truck. The script lay undisturbed on the table, but Max didn't pay it any mind. She would have plenty of time to practice later.

•••

"This isn't going to work. I need to tell Mr. Keaton that I'm dropping out." Max paced around Chloe's bedroom, focusing intently on the worn script in her hand.

"Whoa, whoa, Max." Chloe said, sitting up from where she was laying on her bed. "You can't just drop out of the play like that. You're too important, and there's been so many rehearsals that there's no way anyone else is gonna be able to learn in time."

"Well, why doesn't Rachel play Imogen? She's very princess-like."

"Because first of all, Mr. Keaton picked you for the play because you're perfect for the role. I don't think Rach would pull off the chaste, tomboyish look as well as you. And second of all, she doesn't even go to Blackwell anymore. She couldn't be in it if she wanted to."

"What if I lost my voice?" Max said, still not looking at Chloe.

"What?"

"Or... broke my leg? Then he'd have to find someone else, right?"

Chloe frowned. "Max. You're not going to break your leg just to get out of a play."

Max stopped her pacing and slumped down into the desk chair with a groan. "Ugh. You're right. I don't even know a safe way to do that."

"I mean, you shouldn't even be thinking that way. It's not the end of the world because you're having trouble acting. Aren't the rehearsals helping?"

Max shrugged. "I guess. But everyone else just seems so much better at this than me."

"So what? They aren't the star of the play. You are. And I guarantee you you'll do a fucking amazing job of it."

"I don't know..."

"And I do. I always know best, so case closed."

Max chuckled. "I don't know about that either."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, choosing to take some time to rest. Max was only growing more and more stressed with every day that passed. Chloe and Rachel had shown up for the first few rehearsals, but Mr. Keaton had kicked them out when the began practicing their blocking.

Chloe didn't know how well Max did on the practice stage in front of her co-stars, but the way she spoke of it and her increasingly depressive outlook didn't give Chloe much confidence. She and Rachel tried everything they could to keep Max's spirits up—spending time around town, constant reassurances, and enough 'private time' to keep them all satisfied—though she still only focused on the negatives.

Max had her head in her hands, whispering something to herself, and Chloe decided to start a different line of conversation.

"Did I ever tell you about the time _I_ was in a play?"

Max shook her head. "Rachel mentioned it a few times, but I never got any details."

"Well," Chloe began. "Basically, I wasn't supposed to be in the play. I was just backstage helping Rachel deal with Victoria when one of the actors got stuck in traffic. So who else but me gets to dress up like a big blue bird to prance around the stage?"

"You dressed up as a bird?" Max smiled at the thought.

"Not an actual bird. I think it was a metaphor or something. Anyway, I get up there having learned my lines less than five minutes before, and I goddamn nailed it. You should've seen me up there. My stage presence was atrocious, but I got the lines down. Not that it mattered, because Rachel immediately went off-script to tell me how much I meant to her. She practically proposed to me in front of everyone, and honestly, that's when I knew I loved her."

Max opened her mouth to speak, but Chloe continued. "That's what I want you to remember when you're up there. You make that stage yours, and don't ever worry about what the people in the audience are doing. Not a single one of them will remember if you flub a word or miss a cue or whatever."

"Mr. Keaton will know, though," Max responded.

"Fuck Mr. Keaton. You're the one doing all the hard work while he sits backstage. If he wanted it done differently he'd go out himself in a long dress and talk about how much men suck. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Max nodded and stood up from her seat. "Yeah. That... surprisingly does make me feel a bit better. I need to stop comparing myself. You're right, Imogen is _my_ character, and I shouldn't let everyone else make fun of my acting."

"Have they been making fun of you?" Chloe asked, clapping a fist into her hand. "Tell me who's doing it and I'll make sure they don't try it again."

"No, no. It's not that bad." Max tried to calm Chloe down. She was happy that Chloe was so quick to protect her, but she didn't want to make things worse than they already were. "Just Victoria being her usual self."

"What a bitch. Why can't she just leave you alone? But enough about those pricks. You need a break."

Max nodded in agreement. She had been pouring through her script for a couple of hours at this point. She walked over to where Chloe was and sat next to her, leaving no space at all between them.

As she settled, Chloe put her arm around Max's shoulder and pulled herself in close. "Fancy meeting you here," she said with a smirk.

"So. What did you have in mind for the break? Are you hungry? Because I could eat out."

Max gave Chloe a confused stare until the understanding struck her. "That was _terrible,_" she said as she playfully pushed Chloe down on the bed. She fell back and Max immediately brought her legs up to crawl on top of her.

Chloe looked up with a smug smirk at Max's face just inches away. "But you love me."

"Yeah. I do." Max leaned down, softly pressing down on her girlfriend with a kiss. Chloe's hands wandered up the back of Max's shirt as she pulled her closer. Their kiss deepened as they embraced each other, eyes closed.

•••

Chloe and Rachel tried to keep their heads down as they scrambled through the maze of chairs and people. As they weaved around the sitting crowd, they made their way over to a pair of open seats they had spotted earlier. Rachel led the way, her hand a vice-like grip on Chloe's, pulling them both toward their mark.

When they arrived, they both collapsed into their seats, Rachel on the end of the row, Chloe next to an older woman—someone's mom most likely. They had just returned from a snack run to the convenience store down the street. They had planned to return with plenty of time to spare before the play began, but they had lost several minutes due to Chloe arguing with the cashier over the price of a bag of Doritos. Instead of the two bags she had expected to leave with, they left with nothing after they were asked to leave.

Rachel wasn't especially hungry, but she was never one to turn down extra food. Especially since the play was almost three hours long with only a single intermission, but she was used to coasting by on a minimal lunch. She always thought it would help her keep her figure.

Chloe, on the other hand, was still fuming that she wouldn't have anything to munch on during the show. "It's bullshit. That lady saw the coupon but got all pissy just cause I asked her to scan it. I'm fucking starving." The celebratory joint they had split before wishing Max luck wasn't helping matters either.

"To be fair," Rachel added. "You started off by calling her a bitch for trying to skim you out of two dollars."

"She pulled the coupon right off! And two dollars is a lot for my broke ass."

Chloe's voice had risen above the quiet whisper they had begun with, and she was quickly cut off from adding anything else by a sharp '_shush!'_ from behind them.

"It _was_ expired..." Rachel breathed just loud enough for Chloe to hear.

Chloe responded with a low grumble. She wasn't in the mood to continue the discussion, because the lights on stage had just lit up, revealing two dapper figures in cloaks who soon began speaking.

Rachel had her entire focus on the stage, not paying any attention to anything else but the play. Chloe was having a hard enough time understanding what the men were saying. She hated Shakespeare and his musty old style of speaking. Why couldn't the characters just talk normally?

As the two gentlemen finished their conversation and left, three more figures walked on stage, including Max. Gone was the timid, anxious girl who worried over every choice and change. Instead, the woman who appeared truly gave the impression of a confident princess, born to nobility and willing to do whatever she wished.

A boy named Luke played Posthumus, Imogen's husband,, and while he delivered his lines cleanly, they lacked the force and attitude that Max had spent the past few months perfecting.

Both Rachel and Chloe were in awe at the change they saw in Max. They still hadn't been allowed in any rehearsals, so they had no clue how she would act on stage. Even in their private lessons, the two of them had slight doubts, though they would never voice them.

The play moved on, each scene with Max only showing the audience the skill in her acting. As far as either Rachel or Chloe could tell, she never flubbed a line, missed a cue, or voiced her character with anything but passion. Rachel made a mental note to convince Max to follow this art; she had a talent.

It was during the final scene that something unexpected occurred. In front of the king, Imogen, still dressed as a boy in shorts and a plain shirt, and Posthumus had finally reunited, him declaring his love for her once more.

"Hang there like a fruit my soul," Luke cried. "Till the tree die!"

The king opened his mouth to speak, but Max stepped forward, beginning her line before he could utter a word.

"And shan't it ever, for as I breathe, my love, so shall it." Max looked out into the audience, her eyes immediately locking on to Rachel and Chloe. Her two co-stars stood awkwardly behind her, confused at the unexpected interruption. "For I speak troth my heart desire. Two branches of a trunk, each bearing the sweetest. Upon my purse I cannot hold, for the price of amber not compare. This tree of ours, last forever..."

Max stepped back beside the other two actors and looked to them, awaiting the next line. The audience had not noticed that the lines were unscripted, but Rachel and Chloe knew that Max had never practiced those words with them. They were of Max's own design, and though she spoke the words themselves in the dense style of the playwright, the two of them understood the meaning enough.

The king continued back onto the script, quickly moving past the interruption, but Max's plan was finished.

"That was amazing!" Rachel ran full speed into Max's arms the moment she stepped off of the stage after the bow. "And don't think we didn't see what you did up there."

Max beamed. "I hope you saw it. I meant it for you two. Though I'm sure Mr. Keaton won't be too happy about me going off-script. Chloe was the one who gave me the idea in the first place."

"Me?" Chloe said, stepping in and throwing an arm around Max.

"Yeah. You told me how you and Rachel said your own words in _The Tempest_, so I figured I would try the same thing."

"Trust me," Rachel said. "It turned out incredible. I still have goosebumps from your performance. I had complete faith you would do it justice, and you went so far beyond what I thought. You're wonderful."

"Yeah, Max," Chloe added. "That was straight up unbeatable. No one else on that stage even came close."

Max began to blush from the constant compliments, but neither Rachel or Chloe could stop talking about her acting as they walked to the truck. Now that she was out of the spotlight, she more resembled the cute, shy girl that Rachel and Chloe had fallen in love with. Every time she would try to play off something they said, they only responded with a soft peck on her cheek to let her know they meant it.

"Oh, and one last thing Max," Rachel added as they reached the truck. "It's very, _very_ important."

"Yeah?" Max said. "What's that?"

"Tomorrow we're getting you another pair of those shorts, because your legs look _hella_ sexy."

* * *

**A/N:**

A random idea that came to me, so I wrote it down in two days.

Also check out my other story, _No Middle Ground_.

Thanks for reading.


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